Olympic breaking had its moment, if ever so brief

The Olympic debut of breaking, known colloquially as breakdancing, was a highly anticipated event at the Paris Games.

Organizers seemed to save the best for last as the men's and women's breaking events were held on the final days of the two-week-long Olympics.

The competition was quickly a crowd favorite with bleachers reportedly swaying with rowdy fans and packed standing-room-only sections .

Athletes, known as B-girls and B-boys, went head-to-head as judges scored their "throwdowns" on six different criteria — creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality.

Historic first medals were handed out Friday in the women's competition as Japan's Ami Yuasa took gold. Canada's Phil Wizard took home top honors in the men's competition on Saturday.

However, the festivities weren't all joyous as the dancing concluded.

News spread that the sport will not return for the 2028 Los Angeles Games , which would make breaking a potential Olympic one-hit wonder.

But organizers of breaking competitions outside the Olympics vowed to lobby Australian officials for inclusion in the 2032 Games in Brisbane.

"Our campaign to be added to Brisbane 2032 has already begun and is being ably led by our first vice-president and resident Australian Tony Tilenni," World Dance Sport Federation president Shawn Tay said in October 2023 when it was first announced breaking would not continue in four years.

If crowd size and fan engagement are any measures of the sport's popularity in Paris, it will be interesting to monitor whether it makes its triumphant return in eight years.